The Wisconsin Idea

Dispatch

Last Resort Abortion in a Rural Reproductive Rights Wasteland

“If abortion is taken away in Wisconsin completely, people will do much worse things.”

Sam Stroozas

Rural America

Swamped by Vacation Rentals, Small Towns in the West Are Fighting Back

An explosion in the number of short-term rentals is contributing to an affordable housing crisis in the rural West. Some communities have responded by banning them.

Erika Bolstad

Feature

How January 6 Is Being Used to Crush Dissent on the Left

Rather than grapple with the political forces behind the Capitol siege, lawmakers have instead pushed a spate of anti-protest laws across the country.

Branko Marcetic

Labor

Chicago Teachers Voted to Teach Remotely Amid Omicron Wave—And Were Locked Out

The teachers’ union demanded greater safety measures in classrooms, and in response the school district cancelled classes and locked educators out of online learning platforms.

Jeff Schuhrke

Viewpoint

The Ticking Bomb of Crypto Fascism

The crypto market's inevitable crash will pull America's politics in an even scarier direction.

Hamilton Nolan

Departments

What If We Made Democracy... More Democratic?

When politicians seem increasingly out of touch with the average person, perhaps the average person should make decisions instead.

In These Times Editors

Labor

This Year in Working: The 10 Most-Read Labor Stories

Now's a good a time to look back and ask: What just happened?

In These Times Editors

ViewpointRural America

A Brief History of How Big Oil Outplayed Us All

For a century, the fossil fuel industry has outmaneuvered regulators and the public to lock in its power and profits, at the world’s expense.

Naomi Oreskes and Jeff Nesbit

Cover StoryInvestigation

The Big Business Behind Travel Nursing

During the Covid-19 pandemic, demand for nurses—already understaffed—surged to even higher levels, and travel nurses deployed to fill the gaps.

Alice Herman